Erattupetta Ayyappan, a 55-year-old male captive Kerala Festival elephant, has passed away. He’s said to have enjoyed a huge fan following and to have been a major attraction at hundreds of temple festivals in Kerala. He was known for his calm nature and majestic presence, and hundreds of people gathered at the Paravanparambil house upon learning of his death to pay their respects. According to news reports, “[h]is passing has deeply saddened the community and elephant enthusiasts across Kerala.”
It is unbearably sad that Erattupetta Ayyappan was celebrated in death, but only after enduring a life of senseless abject misery. The Kerala captive festival elephants’ existence is beyond awful:
They are often kept chained in one spot for long periods, on hard surfaces with little ability to move or turn. The chains cause wounds, infections, and chronic pain. The elephants also experience extreme isolation and rarely interact with other elephants, which is profoundly unnatural and psychologically damaging to such social animals. And the elephants are forced to participate in noisy festivals, which leads to distress and stereotypical behaviors (rocking, swinging), signs of emotional trauma.
A Kerala elephant may be beaten, threatened with sharp implements, or subjected to brutal practices, such as the "Katti Adikkal" ritual, in which, during mating season, male elephants are beaten continuously to break their spirit. The elephants often receive poor diets, insufficient access to water, and little veterinary care. Participation in ceremonies and travel continues regardless of their suffering.
Sangita Iyer, a devoted, highly effective, and remarkably brave elephant advocate, produced a documentary about the suffering of the Kerala elephants, "Gods in Shackles." The documentary was inspired by Sangita’s own encounters and witness accounts. The film was nominated for portraying the torture stories of captive elephants in the name of festivals and has received over a dozen international film festival awards. The documentary is extremely well done and a real eye-opener, to vastly understate it. And it’s now streaming for free on Unchained TV.
The good news is that "Gods in Shackles" seems to have awakened the Kerala temple, which is now confronting the brutality faced by "festival elephants" and is now looking for alternatives. Turning to AI and robotic technologies, Sangita Iyer's organization "Voices for Asian Elephants" has launched multiple robotic elephants across southern India, including in Kerala, to replace live elephants. This way the culture can thrive, and elephants don't have to suffer.
You can read more about their projects here.
Weeping Elephant Project